Q&A

Contact: Rhalee Hughes rhalee hughes public relations + marketing 212.260.2244 [email protected] Q&A

LADY MIDNIGHT: BOOK ONE THE DARK ARTIFICES, A Novel by Cassandra Clare; McElderry/ S&S; Hardcover Fiction; $24.99;On Sale March 8, 2016; 720 pages; Ages 14 and up; ISBN: 9781442468351

Q: is a Shadowhunters novel, however it is also book one in a new series: The Dark Artifices. Can someone who has not read previous Shadowhunter books start with Lady Midnight? Cassandra Clare: Absolutely. I think of it as like Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If you’ve seen the previous Star Wars movies, it helps, and you’ll be happy to see familiar characters again. If not, then the film works just fine as a great adventure movie on its own and those characters are introduced with enough backstory to explain who they are. And the focus is on the new cast, that everyone will be getting to know in Lady Midnight.

Q: Fans of your books are chomping at the bit for Lady Midnight. Can you share five things that they should look forward to in advance of grabbing a copy on March 8th? CC: 1) The solution to long-running mysteries like why you can’t fall in love with your parabatai, your warrior partner. 2) A fun new heroine in Emma, who is a bit reckless and driven by a desire for revenge. 3) A whole bunch of new characters to know and love, including the huge Blackthorn family, who are like all great families, big and messy and loving and would die for each other. 4) Getting to see glimpses of the characters from Mortal Instruments and how they’ve grown. 5) An epic forbidden love.

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Rhalee Hughes rhalee hughes public relations + marketing o. 212.260-2244 | m. 917.224 -4457 | [email protected] Q&A

Q: Where is the new series set and why? CC: It is set in Los Angeles, largely because I grew up there and I was fascinated with the idea of setting the story of a group of teenagers in the place where I was a teenager. They even visit one of my old hangouts!

Q: Lady Midnight starts five years after the end of City of Heavenly Fire. What happened in these five years that fans need to know about? CC: Because Shadowhunters were betrayed by faerie Downworlders in the Mortal Instruments, the Shadowhunters and faeries are now in a state of almost war that they call the Cold Peace. The tensions between Shadowhunters and Downworlders who make up the supernatural world they deal with are running high. Jace and Clary are heading up the New York Institute, and their friendship is helpful to the main characters of Lady Midnight.

Q: The sheer scope of your work is incredible! How do you keep all the mythology and characters straight? CC: I keep detailed notes. I have people who are on point with the little details who can double- check thing for me. My husband is a repository of information on Shadowhunter history and law. In part, he wrote The Shadowhunter’s Codex not for publication but literally for me to look things up in!

Q: Your work has a vast number of literary references and Lady Midnight is no different. Please tell us about the significance of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Annabel Lee” when you were writing. CC: Well, anyone reading will recognize that all the chapter titles are lines from “Annabel Lee,” and the poem itself has an in-world explanation and importance. Annabel Lee is about deathless love-- the speaker is telling us that neither angels nor devils nor death can separate him from the girl he loved as a child. So it’s also about first love, that love you experience when you’re very young, and that has importance both for the protagonists and some unexpected characters as well.

Q: How do characters form in your head? When did the characters of Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn first “introduce” themselves to you? Do you already have an idea of what they will be like five years from now? CC: Usually they come with images and a few qualities and they develop over time. Julian came to me with the image of a boy who was bowed down by responsibility, who had this huge family to take care of, who was always thinking about other people but at the same time could be ruthless. Emma came with the idea of a girl who was bent on seeking revenge, that was the whole driving force of her life.

Q: Emma is desperately afraid of the ocean. Is this something you feared while growing up? CC: Actually, I loved the ocean. But I do remember once being caught by a wave and pushed to the bottom of the surf where I was swimming. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stand up. I thought, the ocean is so powerful it could absolutely kill me. And it was that moment of fear I drew on when creating Emma.

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Rhalee Hughes rhalee hughes public relations + marketing o. 212.260-2244 | m. 917.224 -4457 | [email protected]